The Folly Of Self-Rule

Judges 21:23 And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught: and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and repaired the cities, and dwelt in them. 24 And the children of Israel departed thence at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out from thence every man to his inheritance. 25 In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eye.

Much like today’s culture, the 400-year period of the Judges was marked by this radical individualism. They rejected the standard of God’s word and accepted the individual standard of what was right in their own eye.

But the consequence of doing right in his own eyes always ends in ruin. Proverbs 14:12 says it like this: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”

When man follows his own instincts and inclinations, it leads to ruin. We must follow God’s way, not our own. Beloved, God does not change His moral law to suit our behavior. What God says is right is right even if nobody else is right; and what God says is wrong is wrong even if everybody else if wrong. It’s as simple as that. God rules! The very nature of the fallen world system and our flesh concludes that if something brings us profit or pleasure, it must be good, even if it is wrong. There was a popular song years ago that contained the venomous lyrics, “If loving you is wrong, I don’t want to be right.”

We are living in days spoken of by the prophet Isaiah 5:20 “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! 21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own sight.”

Self rule will always produce confusion and chaos. Fallen man without King Jesus ruling in the heart is a monster of self will, self righteousness and self deception. A self willed person will grieve The Holy Spirit of God and inevitably do that which is right in their own eyes for the simple reason that Jesus Christ is not ruling as King in our lives. To bear fruit and live in a way that is pleasing to Jesus, self must be crucified and denied, not enthroned. Selah